In ancient times, the Body Sect was one of the top sects, once standing shoulder to shoulder with mighty names like Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.
However, with the advancement of soul tool technology, the inherent difficulty of cultivating the Body Sect's secret arts, and the loss of several such secret methods, the Body Sect gradually fell into decline.
To make matters worse, the two brilliant geniuses of the previous generation betrayed or vanished—Smiling Face Douluo Hu Jie defected to the Tang Sect, and the Sect Master Mu Ye's fate remains uncertain. Now, the Body Sect stands on the edge of extinction, a single misstep from disappearing into history.
Fortunately, though, A Ruheng succeeded in cultivating the Body Sect's innate secret method. As long as he doesn't fall, he is destined to become a Quasi-God in the future.
A Quasi-God alone is enough to ensure the Body Sect's prosperity for the next hundred years.
It's no exaggeration to say that the entire century of accumulation by the Body Sect was poured into A Ruheng. This tournament was meant to be his moment of glory.
The Body Sect had bet everything on this. No matter what, they were determined to help A Ruheng establish a name for himself on the continent to further their revival.
A Ruheng himself understood the heavy burden he carried, so from the moment he took action, he went all out. His eyes glowed golden, radiating a fierce aura so intense that the blood energy behind him formed the image of a massive humanoid figure, towering dozens of meters high.
As the most outstanding disciple of the Body Sect in a thousand years, A Ruheng's martial soul was his own body. Once he released it, his skin turned crimson, exuding a savage presence as he strode forward. Each step thundered like a massive hammer striking the battle stage.
He truly lived up to being the only person in hundreds of years to successfully cultivate the Body Sect's innate secret art.
Watching A Ruheng charge at her, Mu Xi's expression turned serious. Aside from Gu Yue, A Ruheng was the strongest opponent she had faced so far.
Thanks to Gu Yue's training over the recent period, Mu Xi's combat skills had improved dramatically.
Even when facing a soul master like A Ruheng, she reacted swiftly and correctly. Intense flames erupted beneath her feet, covering most of the battle stage in an instant.
The extreme heat distorted the very air of the battlefield.
"Mu Xi, that won't hurt me," A Ruheng chuckled. Though her flames were hot, his body could withstand them for hours without issue.
As he spoke, he threw a punch toward Mu Xi. A deafening boom echoed, followed by a massive shockwave. Within tens of meters, all of Mu Xi's flames were dispersed, replaced by a golden-red radiance.
The moment the light enveloped her, Mu Xi's body turned into wisps of fire and vanished.
"An illusion!" A Ruheng was stunned. He had clearly locked onto Mu Xi—how could this be fake?
Of course, Mu Xi wouldn't let him land a direct hit, nor would she go head-to-head with a soul master like him.
She released the flames precisely to distort his vision and create a fiery doppelgänger to mislead him.
As his punch missed, a terrifying golden shockwave surged from behind him.
The aura made A Ruheng frown slightly, but he did not retreat. Instead, he turned to meet it head-on, puffing out his chest without a hint of hesitation, taking Mu Xi's Sunburst Storm directly.
Boom! The blast struck A Ruheng. His crimson skin didn't even change color, seemingly unscathed. He only staggered back slightly.
But before he could catch his breath, nine giant blazing suns appeared above him.
They burst out almost instantly, shooting toward him.
The entire arena became unbearably hot from their appearance. The distorted air made the light ripple across the battlefield.
A Ruheng grinned and lowered his head, smashing the leading sun with his bald head—it burst apart on impact.
"Heh, he knows he's not agile enough to touch Mu Xi. Or maybe he thinks using his trump card against her isn't worth it and wants to pressure her into surrendering," Gu Yue sneered from the spectator stands.
"Xia Yi, be honest with me—what are Mu Xi's chances?" Mu Chen asked solemnly.
"Yeah, Xia Yi, I've heard from the Forging Master Association that several Titled Douluo-level protectors lost to A Ruheng. Even a Hyper Douluo was defeated. Could Xi'er be in danger?" asked Yuan Bao'er beside him.
They, of course, wouldn't miss Mu Xi's battle against A Ruheng.
Though they hadn't joined the Star Battle Network competition, anyone could watch as long as they paid.
"Don't worry, Uncle, Auntie. It's not that hard for Xi'er to beat A Ruheng. He's strong, but so is she," Xia Yi laughed.
If it were someone else, failing to damage the opponent with their strongest soul skill would mean certain defeat.
But Mu Xi hadn't even played her trump card yet—why would she surrender?
Seeing her attacks do little, she stopped releasing more soul skills.
Although defending against soul skills consumed A Ruheng's soul power, his reserves were greater than hers. Continuing that path would only wear her down.
Mu Xi's eyes flared with blazing light.
By now, A Ruheng had shattered all nine suns. As he looked at Mu Xi standing before him, he felt as if her eyes had transformed into scorching suns, dazzling beyond compare.
He didn't overthink. He threw another punch without hesitation.
If Mu Xi dared face him directly, no matter her trump card, he was confident he could end it in a few moves.
But the moment his punch was released, something felt off—it was like he had struck empty air. There wasn't even a shockwave.
"This is a domain!" A Ruheng quickly realized it—he was caught inside a domain.
Every domain carried its own law of power—that's what made them terrifying.
Just like how Three-Word Battle Armor saw a leap in power due to domain-infused laws, a soul master's own domain was even stronger because its laws were personal and deeply understood.
Looking up, A Ruheng saw neither Mu Xi nor the battlefield. Instead, high above, a blazing sun released endless light and heat.
The surroundings transformed into a boundless sea of flames—completely different from Mu Xi's previous fire attacks.
At that moment, A Ruheng felt the entire world resisting him. He couldn't even absorb spiritual energy from the air.
A suffocating sensation followed—he couldn't even breathe, as if the air itself was hostile.
The sun above kept raining down fire, and the temperature skyrocketed—so hot that even he was beginning to feel it.
He seemed to glimpse Mu Xi far on the horizon, staring down coldly from within the sun.
He couldn't lock onto her—there was nothing he could do but resist.
"This is a spiritual domain—Mu Xi's spiritual power has reached the Spirit Domain level," A Ruheng realized, sucking in a cold breath.
He hadn't broken through yet—he was still stuck at the peak of the Spirit Abyss.
But Mu Xi had already surpassed him.
That meant she now had the potential to become an Ultimate Douluo.
"No… in her domain, where soul power and spiritual power work together, even with my superior physique, I can't outlast her," A Ruheng admitted to himself.
If he didn't go all out now, his soul power would be drained completely.
No matter how much he had, it couldn't outlast a Soul Douluo with Spirit Domain power.
"Mu Xi, I admit I underestimated you. From now on, I'm going all out. Be careful!" A Ruheng shouted toward the sky.
Thump, thump, thump!
A strange sound echoed from his body—it was the sound of a powerful heartbeat, so intense that even Xia Yi in the stands felt his own heart racing in sync.
"Ah!" someone in the front row screamed, clutching their chest in pain.
Xia Yi looked over and saw blood vessels bulging from the man's skin—he was on the verge of exploding.
Looking to the side, he saw Mu Chen and Yuan Bao'er both flushed red, clearly uncomfortable.
But they were strong soul masters—unlike that poor front-row spectator, they could still hold on.
"What a terrifying secret art… Is this the Body Martial Soul's third awakening?" Xia Yi's second soul ring lit up as he activated Fox Mind Technique, channeling the heartbeat's pressure into the ground.
Instantly, the condition of everyone around improved.
When A Ruheng's body had expanded earlier, that was already the second awakening.
Now, this powerful heartbeat signaled the third awakening—his final trump card.
On the battlefield, Mu Xi felt it most intensely. The resonance of A Ruheng's heartbeat made her blood boil, her heart pound violently, threatening to burst.
"Mu Xi, I've found you!" Sensing her location through her heartbeat, A Ruheng stomped, causing golden-red flames to erupt beneath her feet.
Now that she was locked on, A Ruheng charged forward. Just before reaching her, a radiant golden domain expanded from beneath his feet, enveloping them both.
"You're not the only one with a domain," A Ruheng said, punching once more. Though smaller in range, within his domain, Mu Xi's spiritual domain couldn't affect him.
Mu Xi stayed calm. Nine massive suns appeared before her again.
"You're out of tricks. That move can't hurt me," A Ruheng dismissed them outright. With his third awakening, his defenses were even stronger.
The move hadn't worked before—why would it now?
"Really?" Mu Xi smiled faintly, raised her hand, and launched the nine suns toward him.
A Ruheng once again used his bald head to collide with the leading sun.
Boom!
The sun shattered—but A Ruheng screamed in agony.
This time, he wasn't unscathed.
His bald head had been scorched and torn open. In some places, his skull was exposed and charred black.
Even then, the flames clung to the bone, burning fiercely.
Within moments, his entire skull was scorched.
The searing pain reached deep into his brain—so excruciating that even A Ruheng, who had cultivated the Body Sect's secret method since infancy, collapsed and screamed.
Thankfully, he vanished into motes of light almost immediately—his body disappearing from the Star Battle Network.
In Heaven Dou City, elders of the Body Sect immediately gathered around A Ruheng's pod.
"Quick! To the hospital!" As the pod door opened, they rushed the unconscious A Ruheng to medical care.
He was the Body Sect's only hope—any mishap could doom them forever.
"Xi'er is terrifying…" In the Star Battle Network, Mu Chen and Yuan Bao'er both swallowed hard.
Was this really their daughter?
Even Zhen Hua probably wasn't her match anymore.
Poor A Ruheng—he came aiming for the championship, only to be eliminated in the early knockout rounds by Mu Xi.
"Even Mu Xi probably didn't expect this result," Gu Yue remarked.
During their past sparring sessions, Mu Xi had never used Samadhi True Flame.
She had only made an estimate of its power. Clearly, she had underestimated it.
Mu Xi hadn't used the flame earlier because she feared A Ruheng's defenses were too strong and it might not work.
She wanted him to let his guard down before striking hard.
Turns out, all that setup might not have even been necessary.
"These women… one more monstrous than the last. Not to be trifled with," Xia Yi muttered. That Samadhi True Flame was so fearsome, even he would avoid it.
Good thing this was the Star Battle Network.
There was no real death.
If that had happened in the real world, even a Hyper Douluo might have been incinerated.
An Ultimate Douluo probably wouldn't fare much better.
Poor A Ruheng—he became the first test subject for the Samadhi True Flame.
His only luck was that he encountered Mu Xi inside the Star Battle Network.
"What? You scared?" Gu Yue teased, laughing beside Xia Yi.
"Scared? Me? I've never been scared. If I dare to have multiple wives, I've got the strength to back it up," Xia Yi puffed up his chest confidently.
"Haha! That's my man!" Gu Yue laughed even harder at his bravado.
(End of Chapter)